Swimming instruction garment



July 14, 1964 D. J- WAYFIELD Filed June 17. 1958 SWIMMING INSTRUCTIONGARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. DAwa M barf/E40 United States PatentM 3,140,549 SWIMMING INSTRUCTION GARMENT David J. Wayfield, 567 MontaukHighway, West Islip, Long Island, N.Y. Filed June 17, 1958, Ser. No.742,600 6 Claims. (Cl. 35-29) This invention relates to a garment foruse in giving swimming instructions and more particularly to suchdevices which provide floating support for the swimming student andprovide a series of indications at various parts of the body forappropriate coordination in the execution of swimming strokes.

Many devices exist in the prior art directed to the problems of teachingswimming. Most of them are rather cumbersome mechanical contrivanceswhich are used out of the water and consequently deprive the learner ofexperience with actual swimming conditions during the exact period oftime when it is most important that such familiarity should bedeveloping. Furthermore, most of the prior art devices require thestrapping of the students limbs to various moving elements of theapparatus which provides asomewhat artificial character to theinstruction and forces, rather than guides, the limbs through the propermotions.

The present invention has been carefully contrived to avoid thedisadvantages of the prior art devices and to cope with the manydifferent problems which confront various people when they are learningto swim. The garment enables the swimming instructor to take the studentthrough the various stages of instruction and enables the student tolearn the various movements of the body and help to coordinate them.

The present invention permits the teaching of swimming in the propermedium, i.e. water. In addition, the garment permits the pupil to makemistakes. Thus the pupils limbs are not forced through predeterminedpaths but he is given signals which enable him to properly execute andcoordinate his limb movements.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a garmentforteaching swimming in the water and providing the student with signalsindicative proper limb coordination.

Another object is to manipulate the body of the pupil by the use of jetsof water.

Another object is to provide a buoyant garment for swimming instructionwhich provides unobstructive use of the arms and legs in executingswimming strokes, the de-- vice during use being comfortably attached tothe users body.

Another object is to provide a device of the class described havingadjustable buoyancy.

A further object is to provide such a device which can be controlled ata remote position out of the water and is adapted for simultaneous usewith a plurality of similar devices for class instruction.

The present invention comprises an aquatic device for giving swimminginstruction consisting of a buoyant garment adapted to receive the bodyof a swimming student and being dimensioned to provide unobstructed useof the arms and legs in executing swimming strokes for indicating to thestudent appropriate coordination of the limbs in executing swimmingstrokes.

In one of its embodiments the invention is comprised of theaforementioned garment which is designed to com- 3,140,549 Patented July14, 1964 ice fortably enclose almost the entire body as shown and couldbe made of closed cell foam neoprene rubber or two-ply gum rubber andneoprene, or some other suitable material such as is used by skin diversand would therefor buoyantly support the swimmer in the water.

A plurality of water pressure nozzles are externally disposed on saidgarment, one on the right side of the hood section, one at the end ofeach sleeve opposite the back of the swimmers wrist, two opposite thestomach, two at the end of each leg so that the legs are reciprocallymovable up and down in response to expulsion of water from the nozzleson the front and back of each leg.

Nine separate Water-inlet connection means are provided at the back ofthe garment opposite the swimmers spine and lead to water conduits orchannels welded or cemented to the garment and said channels terminateat the' aforementioned nozzles.

These nine water-inlet connection means have nine separate hosesattached thereto and each leading to a water supply with means providedto force the water through the hoses into the channels and then outthrough the nozzles in a tempo that Will assist the swimmer inperforming the movements of a desired swimming stroke. Valve means wouldalso be provided in the hoses to regulate the pressure of the water ineach hose, separately or in all the hoses simultaneously, because as thepupil progresses, less water pressure would be needed. These valveswould be manually controlled and would permit the pupil to receiveinstruction in regard to the movements of only his legs, or only hisarms, or in any desired combination.

For example, as the swimmer progresses, the flow of water in a hoseleading to one of the arms could be turned off, thus challenging thepupil to move this arm oppositely to the arm that is water powered.Similarly, the flow of water to the nozzles in the vicinity of thestomach could be turned oif, forcing the pupil to rely on the remainingcue as to the desired movements, namely the pressure that the swimmerfeels in the water conduit on the right side of his head.

It is understood that compressed air could be used to escape from theaforementioned nozzles, instead of water under pressure. This would beparticularly desirable for those water conduits on the front of the legsbecause the air would be very effective in lifting the legs.

As less buoyancy would be needed, the pupil could add weight to anappropriate belt, worn about the waist in the conventional manner ofskin divers.

It is intended also to have normally fiat conduits extend into thegarment and to be welded to the interior surface of the garment so thatwhen the conduits are inflated with water under pressure, the pupilfeels the conduit expand progressively towards various parts of hisbody. Thus the pupil is provided with tactile signals for which muchless water pressure would be needed.

Of course we could also have a cylinder disposed on the back of thegarment so that the nine water-inlet connection means are connected tonine ports in the cylinder, and a hollow cylindrical distributing valvemember is rotatably di'sposedin the cylinder. For details on this andsimilar arrangements, I refer to my previous patent application, thepatent number to be supplied when issued.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent in thefollowing description and claims and in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the invention as worn by swimming pupil;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the back of the same device;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the fluid system.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an aquatic device accordingto the present invention and is designated generally by the referencenumeral 30. It consists of a buoyant garment 31 adapted to receive thebody of a swimming student as shown and has a zippered opening 32 fromthe front of the neck down to the crotch of the swimmer permitting easydonning of the garment.

Along the back of the garment on the pupil are nine water-inletconnection means, 41-49, as seen in FIG. 2. Water-inlet connection means41 is integral with conduit 51 which terminates at nozzle 61, which ispositioned so that when water is released under pressure, the head has atendency to turn upwardly to the left in order to be in a position toinhale.

As shown in FIG. 3, connection means 42 is integral with conduit 52which terminates at nozzle 62 at the back of the swimmers right wristand is positioned to emit intermittent jets of water perpendicular tothe extended arm, in a tempo to coincide with the normal movement of theright arm as it moves through the water when the swimmer is performingan overarm swimming stroke such as the Crawl. A sectional view ofconduit 52 is shown in FIG. 4.

Connection means 43 is integral with conduit 53 which terminates atnozzle 63 at the back of the swimmers left wrist and is positioned toemit jets of water perpendicular to the extended arm and in a tempoalternating with the desired movement of the right arm.

Connection means 45 is integral with conduit 55 which terminates at thenozzle 65. Adjacent to said nozzle is water pouch 100 which is quicklyinflated with water immediately following the jet of water from nozzle64, so as to press against the stomach as a signal to inhale. This pouchis then permitted to deflate by the escape of the water through aspecially constricted nozzle 65 which is positioned to emit a jet ofwater along the left side of the swimmers stomach, permitting the pupilto more easily roll back to the right.

Connection means 46, 47, 48, and 49 are respectively integral with waterconduits 56, 57, 58, 59, said conduits respectively terminating atnozzles 66, 67, 68, and 69. Nozzles 66 and 68 are respectively locatedat the right and left insteps of the swimmers legs and are positioned todownwardly emit jets of water perpendicular to the legs of the swimmerand in a tempo alternating with each other so as to assist in the normalalternating upward movements of the legs when swimming.

Nozzles 67 and 69 are respectively located at the right and leftAchilles tendon of the swimmerss legs and are positioned to upwardlyemit jets of water perpendicular to the legs of the swimmer and in atempo alternating with each other so as to assist in the normalalternating downward movements of the legs when swimming the crawl orbackstroke which employ the flutter kick.

The entire fluid system to practice this invention has been disclosedand illustrated in a previous pending patent application, Serial#729,022, filed April 16, 1958. But my preferred control system for thisparticular invention will include the use of standard solenoid valvesand standard timers. One such means of automatic control has beenillustrated and discribed in the March 1956 publication, AutomaticControl, on page 42, which states: Timer Valve: the flow of liquids, gasor air can be controlled automatically with new timer valves, consistingof a solenoid valve and timer control sealed in a water-tight case.Available in a wide variety of timing cycles, they can be used to turn aflow either on or off, or both, at any desired time and perform thisfunction with repeat cycle operation. Can also be used to obtaincontinuously intermittent operation. Automatic Controls Corp., AnnArbor, Mich.

The fluid system shown in FIG. 5 consists of a hollow cylindricaldistributing valve, 501, within housing, 500, said valve being rotatedby motor 300 and flexible shaft 301. Water under pressure is supplied tothe interior of valve 501 by pump 2% and hose Zfil. As the valve isrotated, an opening, 461 in said valve coincides once during eachrevolution with a corresponding opening or port 41 in housing 599, thuspermitting the escape of pressurized water through hose 600 which leadsto waterinlet connection means 41 and then through conduit 51, escapingfinally through nozzle 61 as a jet of water. Other openings 402409 insaid valve coincide respectively with ports 42'-49' and said portsjoined by hoses (not shown) to respective water-inlet connection means42- 49. The fluid system as shown is intended only to illustrate theprinciples involved.

The hoses (not shown) which would be connected to connecting means 41-49may or may not serve as a convenient tether, confining the pupil to acertain area of the swimming pool.

Also by making some obvious adjustments, this garment could be used forteaching other swimming strokes beside the crawl and the backstroke.

From the above it can be seen that a new and novel garment is providedfor giving swimming instruction, either on an individual basis or inclasses whereby rhythmic coordination of the limbs and proper swimmingstrokes and leg movement can be learned with a minimum of supervision.Furthermore, such instruction is now made possible under actual normalswimming conditions to accelerate the development of confidence in theswimming student. The device further provides unlocalized body supportand does not force the swimmers motions, but permits him to graduallyyet rapidly develop the proper movements. The device can be easilystored in a minimum of space. No complicated machinery is involved nor,because of its simplicity of structure is maintenance a problem.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that variations and additions can bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope andspirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. A garment designed to be worn by a person and having power meansattached thereto for transmitting fluid through selected conduits andnozzles located at various parts of said garment, said garment alsocontaining control means for selectively releasing said fluid throughsaid nozzles to effect body movements.

2. A garment as defined in claim 1 including a pouch and means foralternately inflating and deflating same to serve as a signallingdevice.

3. A garment adapted to be worn by a person, said gar ment containing aplurality of conduits leading to a plurality of nozzles at theextremities of the limbs, said garment having power means attachedthereto and programming means therein for transmitting fluid throughsaid conduits and nozzles in a manner to effect reciprocating legmovements.

4. A garment as defined in claim 3 including manuallyoperated controlmeans for regulating the fluid escaping from said nozzles.

5. A garment as defined in claim 3 wherein the limbs of said garmenthave rigidifying means to discourage improper limb movements.

6. A buoyant garment with a flexible cap attached thereto for teachingcoordinated body movements and designed to be worn by a person in atank. of water, said 5 garment and cap containing conduits with inletand outlet means for transmitting fluid under pressure, said conduitshaving individually-controlled valve means for selectively directingfluid away from various parts of the per sons body to move said parts ofbody in a predetermined manner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6Barcroft Sept. 19, 1939 Craig et a1 Dec. 22, 1942 Rosett Oct. 24, 1944Leguillon et a1. Oct. 15, 1946 Akerman June 27, 1950 Garbellano Jan. 12,1956 Chatham et a1. Feb. 3, 1959 Cunningham June 21, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS France Aug. 17, 1936,

3. A GARMENT ADAPTED TO BE WORN BY A PERSON, SAID GARMENT CONTAINING APLURALITY OF CONDUITS LEADING TO A PLURALITY OF NOZZLES AT THEEXTREMITIES OF THE LIMBS, SAID GARMENT HAVING POWER MEANS ATTACHEDTHERETO AND PROGRAMMING MEANS THEREIN FOR TRANSMITTING FLUID THROUGHSAID CONDUITS AND NOZZLES IN A MANNER TO EFFECT RECIPROCATING LEGMOVEMENTS.